7 ag stories you might have missed this week - July 14, 2017

1. New research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln finds the number of fires occurring each year in the Great Plains has tripled over the past three decades. The number of land burned has jumped by more than 400% from thousands of acres per year in 1985 to 1994 to millions of acres per year from 2005 to 2014. – Nebraska Farmer

2. The AgTech Summit in Salinas, Calif., brought together geeks, enterprising European companies and farmers to share solutions to some of agriculture's most pressing issues, including water scarcity and labor shortages. – Farm Futures

4. American Soybean Association CEO Stephen Censky, a Minnesota native, has been nominated to be deputy secretary of agriculture. It's unknown when his confirmation hearing will be held. – Farm Futures

5. Smart farming is becoming increasingly popular across U.S. agriculture, being used not only by farmers who raise corn and soybeans, but also farmers who raise walnuts, grapes and pistachios. – The Economist

6. South Dakota farmer Scott VanderWal testified that farmers need a tax code that boosts the agricultural economy and frees them to reinvest in their businesses at the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee hearing on July 13. – Farm Futures

7. What will the impact of Brexit be on farmers? A former Tory MEP says cheap food imports will force farmers out of business, while a UK spokeswoman says Brexit provides "a golden opportunity to better support our farmers." - BBC

And your bonus: A bevy of news about dicamba herbicide.

Dicamba has been in the news this week, with Missouri and Arkansas banning its use because of drift concerns. - Reuters

As of 10:30 a.m. July 10, there were 145 official complaints related to dicamba drift recorded by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The complaints cover more than 66,384 acres – Missouri Ruralist

Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn temporarily halted all sales and use of dicamba products labeled for agriculture uses. Chinn lifted the ban and put new restrictions in place. – Missouri Ruralist

A University of Missouri Extension agronomist estimates 62,000 acres in New Madrid County, Missouri, show signs of dicamba injury. Monsanto remains committed to the technology, saying in a statement that they spent years developing the technology to reduce drift potential. – Missouri Ruralist

In Iowa, the majority of off-target injury to soybeans has been in the vicinity of Xtend soybean fields. – Corn and Sobyean Digest

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has issued new rules on spraying both old and new formulations of the herbicide. Use of older formulations is banned. Newer dicamba formulations can only be sprayed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. – Delta Farm Press

Researchers are looking at dicamba injury and trying to determine what yield loss will be. – Missouri Ruralist